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No fireworks or champagne for Party City
The CEO of Party City said the earlier Easter holiday hurt its second quarter traffic as the retailer reported a loss.
In the second quarter ended June 30, the party supply retailer said same-store sales rose 1.2%, shy of analysts' forecasts for growth of 2.8%. The company also posted a loss of $23 million, or 20 cents a share, compared with a profit of $2.5 million a year earlier. Overall, sales rose nearly 1% to $495.5 million in the quarter.
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For retailers, it may be time to ramp up the buybacks
Retailers rely on a combination of dividend payments and share repurchase programs to return cash to stockholders, but the latter method is coming under scrutiny as Democrats look to leverage the populist theme of income inequality during the 2016 presidential campaign.

